Originally called Chapelizod House, the King’s House was a 17th-century brick manor house located in the village of Chapelizod. It was constructed around 1620 and acquired by the English crown in 1663. It once served as the Vice-Regal Lodge but from 1760 it was used as the headquarters of the Royal Irish Artillery. The early history of The King’s House is well documented e.g. see Illustrations of Irish History and Topography by Falkiner so I won’t repeat it here. The later history of the house is not well known so I think it worth sharing what I have been able to discover about the house from 1832 until its eventual destruction in 1861 together with brief details of a cause célèbre which occurred in the new house built on the site a few years later.
By 1832 The King’s House was surplus to requirements and it was included in an auction of Crown Lands on 27th Nov.
The King’s House was bought by John Lawler. The dimensions of the buildings in July 1844 were recorded by the valuator James Harton in his field book and are shown in the table below.
When John Lawler died in 1855 his four sisters inherited his estate. By February 1861 two of the sisters, Frances and Sarah, had died. Around 11p.m. on the 7th a fire broke out. Sisters Rose and Mary and an elderly servant were asleep at the time. Thanks to Acting-sergeant Ledwich who raised the alarm the residents were saved but the old house and its contents, which were uninsured, were totally destroyed. The loss sustained was estimated to be £700. Notices were placed in the newspapers to stop debentures valuing £2,100 which had been lost in the blaze.
Phoenix-like a new house arose on the site. It too was known as The King’s House. Mary was of limited mental capacity and after Rose’s death on 5th December 1865 the wrangling to gain control of her money began. James Metcalf was confirmed as Mary Lawler’s agent by the Lord Chancellor in the spring of 1866 and he moved in to the house “for the better discharge of his duty”.
On 17th May 1867 John Walsh and James Metcalf were granted (limited) administration of the estate of Rose Lawler for the benefit of Mary Lawler. Metcalf married Julia Smith in July the following year and brought his new wife to live with him in the house. To all intents and purposes he acted as though the place was his own.
On 23rd August 1868 Metcalf was killed by Joseph Peter Dawson, a former policeman, who also claimed to be a relation of Mary Lawler and who bore a grudge against him. Dawson had worked for the Lawlers prior to Metcalf’s arrival. He considered Metcalf to be an interloper and he was trying to ‘encourage’ him to leave. Dawson was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 5 years in prison.
Mary Lawler died on 16th February 1875 at the purported age of 104.